Winter of Our Discontent

Alexandria VA, 7 July -* In a federal district court Ed Kinane was tried for “failing to obey a lawful order” at a demonstration on March 20th at the Pentagon. On March 20th —the beginning of the fourth year of the U.S. invasion of Iraq— Kinane and fifty other nonviolent activists were arrested as they swarmed over (and under) a five foot-high barricade set up by Pentagon police as the group sought to go to the Pentagon to meet with Donald Rumsfeld._

Kinane choose to defended himself without an attorney. The following is his statement to Judge Jones. Kinane was sentenced to pay a $50 fine and $35 in court fees, although Kinane stated, “Your honor, I will not pay fines for illegitimate and politically-motivated charges. I will not pay fines levied against me for my nonviolent civic activism.”

Washington D.C. — By a vote of 348-71, the U.S. House of Representatives voted March 16 to spend 67,000,000,000 dollars more for open-ended wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, despite the fact that a growing majority of the people they represent believe the war is wrong.

In an eleventh hour effort on March 15 to appeal to the conscience of the Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, six peace activists took their case to his office on Capitol Hill where they read the names of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians killed in the war, and negotiated with Hastert’s staff for a meeting with the Illinois congressman.

On February 15, four of us began a liquids only fast at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Two of us are consuming only water; two of us are consuming juice. We intend to fast through March 20, as the U.S. enters its fourth year of occupying Iraq.

We began our fast on February 15 to recall the massive global mobilization against the impending U.S. led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Three years ago, millions of people took to the streets around the world in the largest mobilization ever to try to prevent a war from starting. At that time, talk was that a new global superpower had emerged to challenge the growing U.S. military empire.

Vigiling and fasting in front of the Capitol these past 3 weeks, it is apparent that a noxious disease has overtaken the U.S. public and those professing to be opposed to the war. It’s a disease of disdain for one’s own rights and responsibilities which come from living within a democracy. With the few exceptions of those who refuse to give up the legislative struggle, the refrain is: “I’ve marched. I’ve vigiled. I’ve voted. I’ve written letters to Congress. And still the war goes on. There is no reason to lobby or act anymore.”

Washington, March 14 — Last Wednesday evening, the House Appropriations Committee voted to throw another $67,000,000,000 at the murderous work in Iraq and Afghanistan. That night members of the committee, righteously indignant and nearly unanimous, gave President “Bring ‘Em On” Bush a loud slap in the face.

Two activists were arrested last evening at the House Appropriations Committee hearing. Mike Ferner and Ed Kinane of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, interrupted the hearing to call for an end to funding of the war against Iraq. The Committee was considering, and subsequently approved, an additional $67 billion in supplemental funding for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Ferner and Kinane were released early this morning on charges of disrupting a Congressional committee hearing.

Now is the time to contact the members of the House Appropriations Committee to urge them to vote against the supplemental spending bill which would provide approximately $65 billion in additional funding to wage the war against Iraq.

February 22, 2006 Washington – 2/22/06. Today is day eight of our 34-day fast for peace at the U.S. Capitol, the Washington component of the Winter of Our Discontent campaign organized by Voices for Creative Nonviolence.

The four of us in D.C., Maureen Foltz, Jeff Leys, Ed Kinane, and I are doing a liquids-only fast. Maureen and Ed are drinking juice; Jeff and I are trying the water route. So far, everyone reports they’re in good shape and not feeling any serious side effects.